In general, a shielded cable comprises a plurality of braided cores having a large number of drain wires wound therearound. The combination is covered with an insulating sheath. Transversely wound cable has linearly extending drain wires twisted circumferentially around the cores. A variety of methods and apparatuses for, e.g. peeling the sheath at an end of such transversely wound shielded cable and separating the cores from the drain wires, are known.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 1/177810 discloses a method wherein the shielded cable is peeled to expose the drain wires, which are than brushed; however, the surface of the drain wires needs to be brushed many times. As a result, the surfaces of the drain wires are likely to be damaged or the plating may be abraded off.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 64/81608 and 64/26316 disclose methods for processing drain wires using pressurized air. These devices necessitate large equipment for supplying the pressurized air, leading to increased cost and space requirements.
It is desirable to easily and securely process the end of the shielded cable using simple equipment without damaging the surfaces of the drain wires. However, the art disclosed in the aforementioned publications cannot meet this requirement. Therefore, it is an object of the present Invention to provide an improved method for processing the shielded cable without damaging the surfaces of drain wires, in particular by the use of simple equipment.